Climate Change Threatens Unique West Coast Forest Region

The Klamath is a unique region in Northern California and Southwest Oregon. In addition to being a haven for biodiversity — hosting plants that only live in its mountainous landscape and 29 different species of conifers—it also stores carbon in its diverse array of tall trees. But those iconic trees, and their carbon-storing power, are under threat from climate change , a study published Monday in Scientific Reports found. Using a landscape simulation model, researchers at Harvard University, Portland State University and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute looked at five different potential climate change scenarios and found that, even under a continuation of current climate conditions, up to one third of the conifer landscape could be replaced by less-carbon-absorbing shrubs and hardwood this century. This change in vegetation is largely driven by the impact o...